Teaching Matters @ SU

The key to student learning

JP Bosman — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:17:56 +0000

The key to student learning – Shared by Nicoline Herman

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Please add your ideas for the ACTIVE acronym by commenting on this post (click on Responses above)

e-Learning resources on the web

JP Bosman — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:18:19 +0000

With the explosion of technology at a unprecedented rate it is often difficult to find good quality resources to help you come to grips with so many new things “teaching and learning “and especially e-Learning. Luckily there are also a number of very good internet resources that archive and disseminate excellent quality information, resources and networks. A few of them are listed below:

E-Learning Beehive – (www.elearningbeehive.com/ ): ”It is a place where you can get interesting and relevant information on elearning trends and practices, and find out about elearning workshops in the the Melbourne (Australia) area.”
e-Learning Learning – (http://www.elearninglearning.com/): “Collecting the best information about eLearning”
Mphil HSE e-Learning module blog – (http://mphilhse.blogspot.com): A Stellenbosch University Mphil programme module homepage that utilises a blog as central teaching and learning technology. The focus is more on health education e-Learning, but there are also quite a few very interesting broader resources and posts on everything e-Learning.
Merlot – (http://www.merlot.org): Putting Educational Innovations Into Practice .Find peer reviewed online teaching and learning materials. Share advice and expertise about education with expert colleagues. Be recognized for your contributions to quality education.
Designing and implementing e-Learning – (http://designing.flexiblelearning.net.au/): From the Australian Flexible Learning Frawork – supporting e-Learning opportunities.

Do you have your favorite and very useful e-learning resource websites? Please comment on this post and tell us about them!

Keywords: e-Learning, resources, internet, beehive, elearning learning, mphilhse,merlot

“Making a life” interview series – Stellenbosch lecturers talk about their teaching

JP Bosman — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 05:57:54 +0000

We invite you to the Centre for Teaching and Learning or CTL’s ‘Making a life’ series, where we explore the attitudes and experiences of academics at Stellenbosch University, with regard to their roles in teaching, research and what is generally called ‘community involvement’.

The interviews were conducted by Dr Catherine Kell, a researcher commissioned by the CTL.
The series includes the opinions and thoughts around teaching and learning of:
1. Aslam Fataar
2. David Holgate
3. Nokwanda Makunga
4. Leslie Swartz
5. Rhoda Malgas
6. Elmarie Constandius

You are invited to subscribe to the series by clicking on the following link:
http://blogs.sun.ac.za/teaching/feed/ (if you have Microsoft Outlook it will ask you if you want to add the RSS feed to your inbox). In this way you will automatically receive the weekly series updates as they are published.

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Die Sentrum vir Onderrig en Leer nooi u uit na die ‘Making a life’ reeks waar ons die gesindhede en ervarings van akademici by die Universiteit van Stellenbosch ondersoek in terme van hul rolle in onderrig, navorsing en wat algemeen bekend staan as ‘gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid’.

Dr. Catherine Kell, ‘n navorser, is aangewys om die onderhoude te voer.

Die reeks sluit die volgende personeel se opinies en gedagtes rondom onderrig en leer in:
1. Aslam Fataar
2. David Holgate
3. Nokwanda Makunga
4. Leslie Swartz
5. Rhoda Malgas
6. Elmarie Costandius

U word uitgenooi om in te skryf vir die reeks deur op die volgende skakel te kliek:
http://blogs.sun.ac.za/teaching/feed/ (indien u Microsoft Outlook het, sal u gevra word of u die RSS voer wil byvoeg in u ‘inbox’). Hiervolgens sal u outomaties die weeklikse reeks se opdaterings ontvang soos hul gepubliseer word.

‘Making a life’: Elmarie Costandius and her Roles in Teaching, Research and Community Involvement

meganfranklin — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 06:00:36 +0000

Elmarie Costandius

“…at that moment that you give students the project of discussing stereotyping, you are immediately in the position where you have to start thinking very carefully yourself about what you say, how you do things. And suddenly you are in a situation where you realize you have just stereotyped!”

In this brief Elmarie Costandius, of the Department of Visual Arts is interviewed by Dr Catherine Kell, a researcher commissioned by the CTL. Download the full interview here.

This is the sixth brief in the Centre for Teaching and Learning or CTL’s ‘Making a life’ series, where we explore the attitudes and experiences of academics at Stellenbosch University, with regard to their roles in teaching, research and what is generally called ‘community involvement’. The series was approached as a set of interviews with individual academics, which took the form of reflective conversations between a CTL researcher and the individual academic. Academics approached for the interviews were not sampled, but drawn from different departments and different disciplines, and tended to be those who had had some involvement with CTL. At times we have incorporated other texts into the brief, to enrich the sense of the activities academics engage in, in ‘making a life’.

‘Making a life’: Rhoda Malgas and her Roles in Teaching, Research and Community Involvement

meganfranklin — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:00:07 +0000

Rhoda Malgas

“The way I see it, there are different currents, working in different directions. The community interaction cannot happen without the teaching and research, because it can’t be sustainable without baseline data. Maybe you could do community interaction and research together without the teaching, but I find teaching so helpful in that it cements my thinking and it challenges me to think differently.”

In this brief Rhoda Malgas, of the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, is interviewed by Dr Catherine Kell, a researcher commissioned by the CTL. Download the full interview here.

This is the fifth brief in the Centre for Teaching and Learning or CTL’s ‘Making a life’ series, where we explore the attitudes and experiences of academics at Stellenbosch University, with regard to their roles in teaching, research and what is generally called ‘community involvement’. The series was approached as a set of interviews with individual academics, which took the form of reflective conversations between a CTL researcher and the individual academic. Academics approached for the interviews were not sampled, but drawn from different departments and different disciplines, and tended to be those who had had some involvement with CTL. At times we have incorporated other texts into the brief, to enrich the sense of the activities academics engage in, in ‘making a life’.

‘Making a Life’: Leslie Swartz and his Roles in Teaching, Researching and Community Involvement

meganfranklin — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 06:00:25 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Christine Fourie

“…it’s a huge privilege [working as an academic], I feel so lucky and people who work at institutions like ours are lucky, lucky. Yes, I complain but I don’t like it when I hear people moaning and complaining and feeling hard done by. I want to say ‘Then go and find another job. Where basically you can do what you love to do; come and go just as you please; be exposed to young people all the time; have technology just provided for you! Find another job like that!”

In this brief, Professor Leslie Swartz of the Department of Psychology is interviewed by Dr Catherine Kell, a researcher commissioned by the CTL. Download the full interview with Professor Swartz here.

This is the fourth brief in the Centre for Teaching and Learning or CTL’s ‘Making a life’ series, where we explore the experiences and attitudes of academics at SU, with regard to their roles in teaching, research and what is generally called ‘community involvement’. The series was approached as a set of interviews with individual academics which took the form of reflective conversations between a CTL researcher and the individual academic. Academics approached for the interviews were not sampled, but drawn from different departments and different disciplines, and tended to be those who had had some involvement with CTL. At times we have incorporated other texts into the brief, to enrich the sense of the activities academics engage in, in ‘making a life’.

‘Making a life’: Nokwanda Makunda and her Roles in teaching, Researching and Community Involvement

meganfranklin — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 06:00:45 +0000

Dr Nokwanda Makunda

“All the research projects that I have ever been involved with have always been applied. It’s always been important to me to be able to do projects that are linked to industry or society because if I thought about changing careers I needed to be able to fit in into another environment – that’s the only way I could see myself being relevant. But I also wanted to do something that would be good, to give something back.”

In this brief Dr Nokwanda Makunda of the Department of Botany and Zoology is interviewed by Dr Catherine Kell, a researcher commissioned by the CTL. Download the full interview here.

This is the third brief in the Centre for Teaching and Learning (or CTL’s) ‘Making a life’ series, where we explore the attitudes and experiences of academics at SU, with regard to their roles in teaching, research and what is generally called ‘community involvement’. The series was approached as a set of interviews with individual academics, which took the form of reflective conversations between a CTL researcher and the individual academic. Academics approached for the interviews were not sampled, but drawn from different departments and different disciplines, and tended to be those who had had some involvement with CTL. At times we have incorporated other texts into the brief, to enrich the sense of the activities academics engage in, in ‘making a life’.

‘Making a life’: David Holgate and his Roles in Teaching, Researching and Community Involvement

meganfranklin — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 06:00:31 +0000

Professor David Holgate

“I guess my point of departure especially when it comes to the teaching research connection would be that as a mathematician it would be quite hedonistic to be involved in pure research and not have a commitment to teaching, especially in an African context, and at the University of Stellenbosch. I really enjoy teaching, but that aside, I do feel what I suppose you can call a kind of moral obligation; that if I have been entrusted with a certain level of knowledge and skill I should share that.”

In this brief Professor David Holgate of the Department of Mathematical Sciences is interviewed by Dr Catherine Kell, a researcher commissioned by the CTL. Download the full interview here.

This is the second brief in the Centre for Teaching and Learning, or CTL’s ‘Making a life’ series, where we explore the attitudes and experiences of academics at Stellenbosch University, with regard to their roles in teaching, research and what is generally called ‘community involvement’. The series was approached as a set of interviews with individual academics, which took the form of reflective conversations between a CTL researcher and the individual academic. Academics approached for the interviews were not sampled, but drawn from different departments and different disciplines, and tended to be those who had had some involvement with CTL. At times we have incorporated other texts into the brief, to enrich the sense of the activities academics engage in, in ‘making a life’.

‘Making a life’: Aslam Fataar and his Roles in Teaching, Research and Community Involvement

meganfranklin — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:44:46 +0000

Professor Aslam Fataar

“…[t]he classroom is not a container that can be closed off, and when you’ve done that, you’ve generated a frame for your research. …the classroom [can be seen] as an extension of social space and time, and that carries with it educational processes that have their origins in the larger world. So the big challenge is to bring that lens on board for teachers.”

In this brief Professor Aslam Fataar, of the Department of Education Policy Studies, is interviewed by Dr Catherine Kell, a researcher commissioned by the CTL. Download the full interview with Professor Fataar here.

This is the first brief in the Centre for Teaching and Learning or CTL’s ‘Making a life’ series, where we explore the attitudes and experiences of academics at Stellenbosch University, with regard to their roles in teaching, research and what is generally called ‘community involvement’. The series was approached as a set of interviews with individual academics, which took the form of reflective conversations between a CTL researcher and the individual academic. Academics approached for the interviews were not sampled, but drawn from different departments and different disciplines, and tended to be those who had had some involvement with CTL. At times we have incorporated other texts into the brief, to enrich the sense of the activities academics engage in, in ‘making a life’.

Digital Stories

JP Bosman — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:26:35 +0000

Auxin Lunch Hour Seminar 25 September 2012: Digital storytelling

Presenters: Daniela Gachago and Veronica Barnes from CPUT.

Digital storytelling has entered Teaching and Learning in Higher Education as a way of improving student engagement, reflection and digital literacies, providing a new, more authentic way to knowledge acquisition. What started in 2010 with a pilot in the School of Education has been rolled out to students in Nursing, Industrial Design, Architectural Technology, Food Technology and Graphic Design at CPUT. In this seminar we presented diverse approaches to and experiences with digital storytelling across the disciplines.

To view the podcast video of the presentation, please click on this link.

Interested in Digital stories for your own practise? Please contact JP Bosman (jpbosman@sun.ac.za)

** The software that Daniela talked about in the presentation is Photo story for windows 3

Keywords: Daniela Gachago, Veronica Barnes, digital stories, digital storytelling, engagement, reflection, education, industrial design, teaching